Senior Principal Project Engineer (Eng)

McDermott International, Ltd; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 400,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

McDermott International, Ltd in Malaysia seeks a Senior Principal Project Engineer to lead complex project engineering activities across multifaceted offshore and subsea programs. You will drive technical direction, manage scope, and coordinate with clients and internal teams to ensure safe, on-time delivery.

The role requires 15-20 years in project engineering, with 5-10 years as Project Engineering Manager, strong leadership, and proven ability to develop proposals and manage budgets.

Qualifications

• 15–20 years of Project Engineering experience with 5–10 years in a PM/PE manager role.
• Registered Engineer in Training (EIT) or professional engineering society preferred.
• Ability to manage multinational projects and handover between departments.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering scope for McDermott projects and ensure contract compliance.
• Develop and implement Project Execution Plans and PMT interfaces.
• Coordinate with clients and internal teams; manage Q&A, RFIs, and design changes.
• Mentor Project Engineers and ensure safe, cost-effective delivery.

Skills

Project leadership

Engineering knowledge

Cross-functional leadership

Proposal development

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering

Tools

MOPEX

Job description

Job Overview

The Senior Principal Project Engineer is tasked with solving unique and complex problems that have a broad impact on the business. They must proactively identify and solve the most complex problems that impact the management and direction of the business. The Senior Principal Project Engineer is considered a specialist in the field of Project Engineering and they offer a broad base of knowledge about the Engineering function. The Senior Principal Project Engineer impacts the direction and resource allocation of programs and projects in their discipline and works within general functional policies and industry guidelines. The Senior Principal Project Engineer role requires conceptual and innovative thinking to develop creative solutions to Project Engineering challenges.

Job Description

Job Overview

The Senior Principal Project Engineer is tasked with solving unique and complex problems that have a broad impact on the business. They must proactively identify and solve the most complex problems that impact the management and direction of the project. The Senior Principal Project Engineer is considered a specialist in the field of Project Engineering and they offer a broad base of knowledge about the Engineering function. The Senior Principal Project Engineer impacts the direction and resource allocation of programs and projects in their discipline and works within general functional policies and industry guidelines. The Senior Principal Project Engineer role requires conceptual and innovative thinking to develop creative solutions to Project Engineering challenges.

Responsibilities

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Manage the engineering scope of a McDermott project
• Establish and implement project procedures to ensure deliverables meet quality and technical content requirements in accordance with contract documents
• Manage the technical execution to support the business considerations established for the project
• May be responsible for a Unit/Area, a specific function, or may be assigned the Project Engineering Manager role on a project
• Regularly requested to support the preparation of proposals for prospective projects
• May be assigned as the Project Manager for smaller projects
• Practice and promote safety in designs and work processes
• Help prepare and understand the requirements of Engineering in the contract documents
• Provide direction to and coordinate with the Engineering and Design Leads on an assigned project
• Develop and implement the Project Execution Plan:
• Incorporate multi-office execution as appropriate (MOPEX)
• Develop internal/external Division of Responsibility (DOR) matrix as required
• Prepare a Project Coordination Procedure
• Communicate project requirements to the team
• Supervise and guide other Project Engineers
• Ensure effective communication among engineering disciplines:
• Document discussions and decisions related to the design
• Prepare, review, and approve meeting minutes
• Prepare, review, and approve Technical Queries, Design Deviations
• Prepare, review, and approve responses to RFI’s and other correspondence
• Prepare and approve weekly and monthly reports for management
• Assume responsibility for cost, schedule, quantity, and budget control
• Manage change Effectively and Proactively
• Develop and maintain Project Engineering documents:
• Assemble and approve the Engineering Staffing Plan
• Equipment List
• Potential Change Notices
• Weekly and Monthly reports for management
• Action item lists (internal and external)
• Review work with clients, management, and project leads
• Coordinate third-party interfaces
• Identify problems and coordinate with the engineering team to correct
• Lead orderly handover and archiving of the completed project
• Approve and submit the closeout report
• Review and approve Lessons Learned submitted
• Review and provide input to Company work processes and procedures as requested
• Interface with PMT and other functions within McDermott and with Clients for technical matters
• Anticipate internal and/or external business challenges and/or regulatory issues; recommend process; product or service improvements
• Solve unique and complex problems that have a broad impact on the business
• Proactively identify and solve the most complex problems that influence the management and direction of the project
• Present highly complex ideas, anticipate potential objections, and persuade others, often at senior levels, to adopt a different point of view

Reports to

Project: Project Manager, Project Engineering Manager
Functional: Manager of Project Engineering/Eng. Director
Liaise with: Project Engineer, PEM, PM, Discipline Lead Engineers, Eng. Dept Managers, Procurement,
Construction/Fabrication team, Project Controls, Finance
Supervises: Project Engineers, Engineering Discipline Leads on a Project (PEM)

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications and Education

• Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree in Engineering
• 15-20 years of Project Engineering experience with 5-10 years of experience as a Project Engineering Manager on multiple projects
• Preferably Registered Engineer in Training (ElT) or member of a professional engineering society as applicable
• Show flexibility and ensure proper hand-over with regards to:
  • The reassignment to other departments, construction sites, and fabrication yards
  • The replacement of colleagues during illness and holidays
  • The provision of assistance to other colleagues with heavy workloads (also other projects) when possible/desirable
• Able to represent the company (internal and external forums) and be an ambassador of McDermott values
• Manage/Learn of future current working methods and software applications
• Recognized PEM or PE within the company
• Demonstrated broad technical knowledge of detailed design engineering codes and standards
• Strong in-depth knowledge of detailed engineering and design work procedures and processes
• Field assignment experience
• Has experience in International Projects with multi-office (MOPEX) execution, part of a Joint Venture or Consortium Group
• Experience developing proposals and contractual documentation
• Experience acting in a PMT role for projects
• Experience in revamping (Brownfield) and grassroots (Greenfield) projects
• Able to read and understand contractual documentation
• Able to effectively communicate with all stakeholders on a project

About Us

Our ingenuity fuels daily life. Together, we’ve forged some of the most trusted partnerships across the energy value chain to make what was once just an idea a reality: laying subsea infrastructure thousands of feet below sea level, installing platforms hundreds of miles from shore, using our expertise to design and build offshore wind infrastructure, and reshaping the onshore landscape to deliver the energy products the world needs safely and sustainably.
For more than 100 years, we've been making the impossible possible. Today, we're driving the energy transition with more than 30,000 of the brightest minds across 54 countries.